A few days ago we launched Alif Network. Working on that launch had me reflecting on something: what's the character arc from builder to founder? If you missed it, we announced a recruiting pipeline where we introduce builders from our ecosystem to fast growing startups like Replit, Exa, Browserbase, etc. It brought me back to how my own career really started. I was always "tinkering." If you talked to any of my friends growing up, they'd say I was more interested in starting a new thing than actually growing the current thing. Random agencies, app ideas, small businesses, an algorithmic stablecoin protocol (lol). But the experience that changed everything for me was joining the early team at @fdotinc and working with @FurqanR. At that point, I wasn't trying to become a founder. I was just trying to make different numbers on a graph go up. But looking back, that's where everything started. Working closely alongside someone who had already built successful ventures – being in those all hands meetings when real decisions got made, seeing how great teams got formed, even learning how to learn. That's where I was subconsciously picking up skills that later directly translated to building Alif. My story isn't unique either. If you look around, you'll see the builder-to-founder arc everywhere. Take @amasad, who was the founding engineer at Codecademy before starting Replit. Or Jawed Karim, who was a founding engineer at PayPal before starting YouTube. Most of them didn't just wake up one day with a great idea and then know how to build a successful company. They built their way there. So when I'm looking at the ecosystem today, and I see all this incredible talent – I started to see an opportunity. We're sitting in this interesting spot at Alif, where we have direct (and early) access to some of the most talented builders in the space. And simultaneously, we have the coolest startups in our ecosystem constantly hitting us up, asking if we know any great engineers, designers, operators, etc. Alif Network felt like the obvious thing to do. Candidly, I hope people don't just look at this as a job board or a recruiting firm spinoff. But rather as a long-term bet on the builders of today, who we believe will go on to start the category-defining companies of tomorrow. Our thesis is simple: when these people go on to start their own companies in a few years, we want to be the first ones backing them. How I see it, investing in this community doesn't just mean writing a check. It can also mean putting them in rooms where they can learn from people who are already building at the highest level. Or giving them a place at a company where they'll learn how to build, scale, and ship things people want. If you’ve been hacking on random side projects and want to join a team building something big — DM me with what you've built, I'd love to chat.
@omarwasm Omar Teacher, I follow you. Let's follow each other
